Despite the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, recruiting for the Louisiana National Guard remains strong. Recruiting numbers averaged higher in the past three years than when the wars first started. According to military leaders, it has a lot to do with incentives and benefits.

The National Guard had to turn away many potential recruits because of new restrictions that rejected people with legal problems like driving while intoxicated or other misdemeanors. The Guard has also turned away people with medical conditions such as food allergies. Still, numbers are up.

Louisiana is second only to Alabama in the number of times National Guard soldiers have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.